Earnhardt Docked 100 Nextel Cup Points

Earnhardt Docked 100 Nextel Cup Points

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s split from DEI was already a soap opera. Cheating allegations have now made it a scandal.

Earnhardt was docked 100 points Tuesday, and crew chief Tony Eury Jr. was fined $100,000 and suspended six races for an illegal modification to the Car of Tomorrow at Darlington Raceway.

The penalties are a significant setback in Earnhardt's bid to win a Nextel Cup title before he leaves DEI at the end of the season _ his seventh with his late father's company. He dropped two spots to 14th in the standings, currently out of championship contention.

It's also a clear sign from NASCAR that it will follow a zero tolerance policy when it comes to creativity on the COT. And, at a time when Earnhardt's defection from DEI has everyone talking, it raised questions of sabotage on a team that previously had a reputation for staying well within the rule book.

"Yes, Dale Jr. said he is leaving. But there is absolutely nothing for Dale Jr. or Tony Jr. to gain from giving anything less than 100 percent for the rest of the season," said Max Siegel, president of global operations at DEI.

"I have heard theories that Tony Jr. was trying to get fired, he's trying to get out of his deal. I can honestly say that's absolutely not true."

DEI is appealing the severity of the fines, and Eury is expected to work this weekend's All-Star race. Suspensions don't begin until the appeals process is finished.

If the appeal is decided next week, and the suspension is not reduced, Eury would be out until the July 7 race at Daytona International Raceway.

Eury, who is also Earnhardt's cousin, is under contract at DEI through the 2008 season. Earnhardt is in the final year of his deal and said last Thursday that he will leave at the end of the season.

Although he's indicated he'd like to leave with Junior, Eury said last week that his future was uncertain.

"I would like to stay with Dale Jr., but I want to do whatever is best for Tony Jr. and leave all my options open," he said.

Eury has maintained that the infraction at Darlington was an oversight _ outdated brackets were accidentally used on the rear wing of Earnhardt's COT.

"It was kind of just a bad deal, a part that got on there that shouldn't have," he said. "There was a lot of offseason testing for NASCAR. There's been like three different kinds of brackets on there and it just happened to be one of the old-style brackets."

"It really wasn't that big of a deal," he added.

NASCAR thought otherwise, and competition director Robin Pemberton said there was nothing accidental about it.

The car initially passed a pre-qualifying inspection, and when the wing did not pass the next day, it was removed for further examination. Once off the car, NASCAR discovered the brackets had been intentionally modified, Pemberton said.

"There is no doubt whatsoever," it was intentional, Pemberton said. "We are very surprised and disappointed in Tony."

This is Eury's first major infraction as a Cup crew chief for DEI, and its the first on the NASCAR-designed COT. The car has strict templates that leave little wiggle room for a crew chief.

Pemberton said the pieces will be on display in the NASCAR trailer all weekend for teams to examine. NASCAR issued a March 21 memo that outlined penalties for COT infractions, specifically listing $100,000 fines, points deductions and suspension.

"We communicated to the teams earlier in the year that any modifications to these parts that had already been certified would be dealt with severely," Pemberton said.

The penalty follows a season-long crackdown on cheating that began at the Daytona 500, when NASCAR caught five teams breaking the rules. Six crew members were suspended and Michael Waltrip's crew chief was fined $100,000 _ the largest monetary fine in series history.

Now Eury has matched it, and Earnhardt said after his eighth-place finish Sunday he would cover any fine his cousin received.

"Whatever he needs me to do," Earnhardt said.

This is the most significant penalty Earnhardt and his team have received. He was docked 25 points and fined $10,000 for cursing during a TV interview after a win at Talladega in 2004. That deduction knocked him out of the points lead. It was the last time Earnhardt has seriously challenged for the championship.

This new penalty dropped Earnhardt from 12th in the standings _ the final qualifying position for the Chase for the championship _ to 14th. He's now 721 points behind Nextel Cup leader Jeff Gordon, and 54 points out of Chase contention.

A service of the Associated Press

Source: [url=http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2007/05/18/ap/sports/auto-racing/d8p5b2200.txt]The Casper Star Tribune[/url]